The Geminid meteor bathe is peaking this weekend, offering a bit of pre-holiday skywatching enjoyable. In years with good circumstances and little cloud cowl, the Geminids will be probably the greatest sky exhibits of the yr with as much as 120 meteors seen in a single hour.
That in all probability gained’t be the case this yr. This weekend’s full moon will make the Geminids appear fainter. But you must nonetheless be capable to see the brightest streaks.
And they’ll grasp round till Christmas Eve, their numbers dropping a bit each night time between now and Dec. 24.
NASA bloggers gave a shout-out to the Geminids this week: “This yr, the almost full Moon will wash out the fainter meteors on the height night time. Still, the Geminids are identified for brilliant meteors, and it’s widespread to identify their taking pictures stars as much as every week earlier than the height. If you’re up earlier than daybreak that week, it’s price trying up, simply in case you notice a speck of mud from house streaking by means of the morning sky.”
Are you an evening owl? The finest time to see the Geminids is round 2 a.m. If you see a fireball – a very brilliant meteor – you may report it on the web site right here.
For extra Geminid info, try this cool article on EarthSky.
